A story traversing moral dilemmas that create incongruence between good and bad

A writer’s block is the most traumatic of times. It seemed like
I was engulfed by it during the month of September. So I gave it up and started
reading my regular book and picked a short story collection to double with it.
While I read the short story by Kartar Singh Duggal, I could experience the
block crumbling down as if it were a tangible object – I won’t be surprised if
writers can relate to this sensation. Thus, The Catalyst found itself a spot in
my mind and Celtx.

‘The Catalyst’ is a story
traversing moral dilemmas that create incongruence between good and bad. Though
cinema has showcased films with the undercurrent of moral dilemma time and
again, it is fascinating how the topic is still just as relevant today, as it
was in the pre independence era, where Duggal had based it on. This film
tackles the perennial and perturbing financial inadequacy that blights the
people at the bottom of the pyramid. A man’s attempt to find a bit of black or
white in this interminably greying society! In short, this is a tale that
concerns all of us – it just depends which side we see it from.

My first film, ‘Pava’,
is a very personal story; the characters are real and date back to my own
childhood. It is a portrayal of a metamorphosis of relationship between a young
girl and a barber. It is a journey that reaches its pinnacle through myriad
sets of emotions. Appealing to the sensibilities and memories of growing up, we
see how certain moments mark the crescendo of a relationship - not as an end,
but as a portrait that will remain etched in the memory. It was humbling to see
Pava being screened in three international film festivals in India.

Pava: A Short Film by Vaishnavi Sundar

I am taking a road to self-discovery through stories about the ‘otherwise unnoticed’ raw human emotions. I have vehemently kept away from the glitz and the chaotic edge of filmmaking not because I am unable to do it, but because human stories such as this need more listeners and I have promised myself to deliver.

We are looking to crowd fund this project and making steady progress, thanks to people from all over the world, who love art. We thought if we are asking members of public for funds, we should get members of public to implore it too!

Here’s what the art fraternity has to say about the project that stress on the fact that you can help too (please refer to the teaser below):To donate visit:

With a diverse career background of Marketing,
Human Resources, Software, Adventure Sports and Advertising, Vaishnavi has now chosen
to expand the time she has been giving to arts – ALL of it. A distinction in
Business degree and stints in the corporate sector for over 6 years, she has now
ventured into theatre and film full-time. As a performer with Theatre Nisha and
Holy Cow performing arts group since 2008, she has been a part of more than a
dozen productions, with over 40 shows in various parts of India and in the UK. She has assisted
a handful of short films, voiced over for cartoons and has sung and danced all her life. She is a writer, and a lover of all things art!

2
comments:

Wow, great to see there are many people who care about this world. You are doing a great job, I really appreciate your effort. Your thoughts and ideas are very relatable, I come across these so many times in my lives but not much I've seen onscreen, especially in India, whereas Iranian Cinema has so much to offer on this.

Hi Tanmay, I am glad you feel drawn towards the subject. It is still not in its way to be on screen - maybe with the support of people like you, it certainly would. If you're interested to contribute, here is the link, https://thecatalystfilm.wordpress.com/donate/ Thanks so much again!

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Murtaza Ali Khan is an independent film critic / journalist based out of New Delhi, India. He has been writing on cinema for over seven years. He runs the award-winning entertainment blog A Potpourri of Vestiges. He is also the Films Editor at the New York City-based publication Cafe Dissensus and regularly contributes to The Hindu and The Sunday Guardian. He was previously a columnist at Huff Post. He has also contributed to publications like DailyO, Newslaundry, The Quint, Dear Cinema, Desimartini and Jamuura Blog. He regularly appears as a guest panelist on the various television channels and is also associated with radio.